Tent



Feb. 6, 1951 J. H. JOHNSON 2,540,529

TENT

Filed Oct. 27, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N V EN TOR.

7kme jv. Jirrs 0 2.

in setting up the test the tent half is reversed from the position shownin the drawings. The

straps 35, 36, are designed to be passed through correspondinglypositioned grommets 3'1, 38, secured in reinforced patches 39 at theends of the floor element 20.

At each end of the upper edges 24 and 2! of roof elements 12 and I3,there are provided grommets 40, and similar aligned grommets 4| areprovided in the files 25 and 26. When the meeting edges of the roofelements are assembled as shown in Fig. 6, there are thus four grommets40, 4|, vertically aligned with each other, and through these grommetspasses the reduced upper end 42 of a vertical tent pole 43. Straps 44are also secured to the opposite ends of the edges 24 and 27 by means ofthe grommets 46, and are looped to receive guy ropes 45, 46, whichextend from the loops to tent pegs (not shown) which forwardly andrearwardly of the tent. Loops 41,

. formed of rope or similar material, are secured in grommets 48 at thelower corners of roof elements l2 and i3, and are designed to receivetent pegs 49 which are driven into the ground to peg the edges of thetent down, in the usual manner.

The ends 50 of the loops 4'! are knotted, in the manner shown in Fig. 9,to prevent the loop from slipping through the grommets when in use, butthe grommets are of such diameter relative to the size of the rope thatthe loop may be pulled upwardly (Fig. 9) to withdraw it from thegrommet, and to permit it to be inserted in the reverse ,:.direction,when desired.

In the use of a tent of this type, it is desirable to enlarge as much aspossible the sleeping space available to each occupant, particularlyadjacent the mid-section ofthe tent, since it is at this section thatthe occupant is most likely to bring his body into contact with the roofsection [2 or l3, and thus expose it to insect bites or to wetting ifrain is falling on the tent. For this purpose, the panels l2a, I20, andthe corresponding panels of roof element I3, are provided on both theinner and outer surfaces thereof with loops 52, 53, permanently securedto the panels by stitching as indicated in Fig. 8. The loops 52, 53receive guy ropes 54, 55 which extend diagonally forward and rearwardrespectively to pegs 56, 51. The proper degree of tension being ap-"plied to these guy ropes, the roof elements [2, l3 and particularly themiddle panels thereof will be drawn outwardly to the position shown inFig. 2, thus providing a nearly vertical portion 58 adjacent themid-section of the lower portion of each of the roof elements, andcorrespondingly enlarging the space for the occupants. These diagonalguy ropes also supplement the action of pegs 49 in giving lateralstability to the tent.

In order to erect the tent, the two halves are brought together and theupper edges 24 and 21 with their flies 25 and are secured together bymeans of the buttons 29 and 30. The ends 42 of poles 43 are theninserted through the grom- I mets 40 and 4| in the manner indicated inFig. 6. Poles 43 being manually supported in vertical are driven intothe ground at a suitable distance 4 position, the guy ropes 46 are thenstaked in place with the requisite degree of tension, and the lowercorners of the tent are secured by means of loops 4! and pegs 49, thefloor elements 26 being folded inwardly so as to lie fiat on the groundinside of the tent. The meeting edges of the end wall elements [6, H, atone end of the tent are then buttoned together by means of buttons 29,30, and the floor elements 20 are secured together in the same manneralong their edges 33 on a center line extending longitudinally throughthe base of the tent. The diagonal guy ropes 54, 55, are then tightenedand pegged to bring the roof elements into the position indicated inFig. 2, whereupon the tent is ready for occupancy. If desired, the endwall elements l6, H, at one end of the tent may be folded back over theadjacent panels of the roof elements and secured in such position bytying thestraps 36 to the diagonal guy ropes 55, 56. If, however, it isdesirable that the tent be made weatherproof and insect proof, theoccupants may button the edges of the end Wall elements from the insideof the tent, and secure the lower edges of elements [6 and I! to theends of the floor elements 26 by tying the straps 35, 36, through thegrommets 31, 38. When so secured, the tent is proof against both insectsand Weather. The occupants will of course place their bedding upon therespective floor sections 26, which will protect the bedding againstmoisture from the ground.

It will be noted that when the tent is set up in the manner indicated inFigs. 1 and 2, the straps 35 and 36 which are secured to the outersurfaces of the end wall elements 16 and H, the loops 52, 53 which aresecured to the inner surfaces of the roof elements i2, I3, and the loops44 which are secured to the roof element l2, are not in use. The reasonfor this is explained hereinafter.

When the tent is struck and packed for carrying, one occupant will takethe portion shown in Fig. 3, including the roof, end wall, and floorelements, the attached guy ropes 54 and 55, the guy rope 45, and the twoloops 41. 'He will also take one tent pole 43 and five pegs. Now let itbe assumed that when he next comes to pitch his tent he is paired with aco-occupant having precisely the same equipment, arranged in preciselythe same manner, as his. The other occupant cannot reverse his shelterhalf end-to-end, since that would bring the two rows of buttons 29, inflies 25, into juxtaposition with each other instead of with theircorresponding buttonholes 3|. It is therefore necessary to bring the twohalves together in mirror-image relationship, with the edges of elements12a, lZb, I20 and 16 of each half meeting respectively the correspondingedges of the elements of the other half. This brings the buttons andbuttonholes into proper juxtaposition, but places the guy ropes 54, 55and loops 4? of one half on the inner'surface of the tent. This matteris corrected by unty-ing the guy ropes from the inner pair of loops 52,53, and tying them to the outer pair of loops; and by reversing theloops 4'! of that half in the manner above indicated. Since tie straps35, 35 are provided in pairs, one on each surface of the end wallelements, the occupants use whicheverlstraps are on the inner surfacewhen the tent is set up. Whichever roof element has its upperedge on theouter surface of the tent, with its fly beneath it, will be placedoutermost .(see edge 2'! in Fig. 7) relative to the other roof element,at the meeting edges, and the strap 440i that roof element will beprovided with two guy lines 45, 46, while none.

If it is desirable to provide free ventilation for the tent while yetretaining protection against insects, tent ends such as that shown inFigs. and 11 may be used, end wall elements l6, l1, being tied back tothe diagonal guy ropes as above explained. Each tent end 60 is aninseparable unit, it being contemplated that each occupant of the tentwill carryone such end, so that a tent end 60 may when desired be usedat each end of the tent. The end 60 comprises two triangular panels GI,62, which are preferably formed of non-metallic screen material such asethyl cellulose or other suitable plastic material of known type, havingabout the same degree of rigidity as metallic screen material, and beinginelastic in about the same degree, but being capable of being foldedwithout injury. A fabric border 63, 64, extends across the bottom of thepanels, and is provided on its inner surface with tie straps 65 forsecuring the lower edge of the tent ends to the floor element 20. Themeeting edges of the panels 6! and 62 are provided with vertical fabricstrips one of which, 66, is provided with a fly 61, while the other, 68,is designed to be inserted between the strip 66 and its fly 61. Thesestrips may be secured together by means of buttons 69 secured to thestrip 66, through juxtaposed buttonholes in the strip 68, in the samemanner as above described in connection with the other elements of thetent. The upper ends of strips 66, 63, are permanently secured togetherand are provided with a grommet 10' designed to receive the end 42 ofpole 43, the ends of the roof elements being lifted off the pole inorder to permit the grommet to be brought into position. The slant edgesof the panels 6|, 62, are bound with taped edges l2, 13, these edges andthe lower border 63, 64, being stitched to the panels with a puckeringstitch, so as to leave an excess of material in the panels which willcause them to bulge outwardly rather than remain in the plane of theelements 63, 6d, l2, 13. When the tops and bottoms of the slant edges ofthe panels are secured in position by the engagement of the grommets 10with the tent poles and by tent pegs respectively, the slant edges of,the panels will be pulled into snug contacting eng'agement with theinner face of the adjacent end wall element [6 or I1; the provision ofthe excess of material throughout the center of the panels obviating anytendency of the side edges being pulled away out of contact with saidend panels.

Loops M are inserted through grommets 15 at the ends of the border 63,64 in the same manner as described in connection with loops 41, and aredesigned to receive pegs to secure the tent ends in position and put theelements 63, 64, l2, 13 under such tension as will cause the bulgingaction of panels BI, 62 above described.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference tothe illustrated embodiment thereof, it is not limited to the form shownand described, but may be embodied in other forms within the limitationsof those skilled in this art. The invention is therefore not to beconsidered as limited except in accordance with the terms of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A shelter tent comprising a pair of slant roof elements adapted to beseparably fastened together at their upper edges to form a gable roof,

a guy secured to a forward portion of one of said elements and extendingdiagonally rearwardly therefrom, and a second guy secured to a rearportion of the same element and extending diagonally forwardlytherefrom, said guys serving to prevent lateral sway of the tent and toincrease the cross sectional area of said tent along said intermediateportions of said elements.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, comprising in addition securingmeans for said guys on both surfaces of said portions, to facilitatesecuring the guys to either surface of said elements.

3. A tent of the A type comprising two slant roof elements, triangularend wall elements permanently secured to the roof elements and capableof being folded and secured thereover when the tent is pitched, and atriangular tent end comprising a screen panel completing the closure ofthe tent when the end wall elements are in such folded position.

4. A shelter tent comprising two slant roof elements, triangular endwall elements secured to the ends of the roof elements and meeting at amedian line to close the end of the tent, the end wall elements beingfoldable and securable over the roof elements when the tent is pitched,and a triangular screen element to close the end of the tent when theend wall elements are so folded.

5. A shelter tent comprising two slant roof elements forming a gableroof, triangular end wall elements permanently secured to the ends ofthe roof elements and having their edges meeting on a vertical medianline to close the end of the tent, separable fastening means on saidedges, and a triangular screen element to close said end of the tent andhaving separable fastening means at said median line so constructed andarranged that when said means are unfastened the screen element may beparted for ingress to and egress from the tent.

6. A shelter tent comprising weatherproof fabric members forming slantroof elements meeting at their upper edges to form a ridge, triangularend wall elements secured to the ends of the roof elements and havingmeeting edges in a vertical line passing through one end of the ridge toclose the end of the tent, a triangular screen element to close said endof the tent, and means for securing the upper portion of the screenelement to said ridge and the lower portion thereof to the ground.

7. The invention defined in claim 6, wherein the screen elementcomprises an inelastic border and an elastic screen panel secured withinthe border and having excess area to cause the panel to bulge relativeto the border when the latter is put under tension.

JAMES H. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,253,123 Beard Jan. 8, 19181,260,612 Whall Mar. 26, 1918 1,481,019 Luebbert Jan. 15, 1924 1,522,644Munson Jan. 13, 1925 1,538,064 Skog May 19, 1925 1,820,412 Warren Aug.25, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 314,506 Great Britain Oct.3, 1929 430,772 Germany Sept. 3, 19.25

